Historic Mars Landing Brought to You by ...Windows XP?

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Historic Mars Landing Brought to You by ...Windows XP?

NASA scientists celebrate after Curiosity's landing.

Screen Grab: Boing Boing

Microsoft's Windows XP got a surprise endorsement as triumphant NASA scientists hi-fived coworkers just before sitting down to take press questions after the historic landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover.

In a video captured by Boing Boing blogger Xeni Jardin, the Windows XP startup screen flashed in the background behind the scientists as they congratulated each other on the successful mission early Monday morning. Like so much of the world, NASA is still using a Microsoft OS that debuted more than a decade ago.

It was enough for Jardin to note on her blog: "Despite the image on the screen behind them, this was not a Microsoft press conference."

One thing's for sure. Windows XP is not running Curiosity. That's powered by VxWorks, a lightweight real-time operating system built by a company called Wind River. "We don't use Windows XP on the rover. Our critical systems are not based on the operating system," says Jeff Norris, a manager of planning and execution NASA's Jet Propulsion laboratory.